Sheet material for soft boxes for toes and method of making same



Patented July I, 1930 UNI-TED STATES PATENT OFFICE WALLACE C. BENNETT, OF HINGHAM, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOR T BENNETT BOX CO., OF BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS, A CORPORATION OF MASSACHUSETTS SHEET MATERIAL FOR SOFT BOXES FOR TOES AND METHOD OF MAKING SAME No Drawing.

tirely, or else make a box which is flexible and thin in order to obtain the required softness, but which lacks the much desired quality of resilience and which has the additional disadvantage that it must be cemented to the adjacent sheets forming part of the toe in order to' form the integrated whole which is desirable. It is an ob ect of the present invention to provide a soft box material in sheet form which when finished will have the quality of resiliency in the toe and will to a satisfactory extent form an integrated unit with the lining and cap of the toe.

I have accomplished this purpose by pro- 5 viding a composite sheet made of loosely matted pulp carried on a thin supporting fabric, of which cheese cloth is an example, the whole being treated with rubber latex or similar liquid.

The process of the invention by which this is accomplished is extremely simple. sheet of repulped loosely matted and dried paper pulp, having thickness according to weight desired for the finished box, is laid on the supporting fabric, and the two together are dipped into the rubber latex..

When dry the product is a springy, flexible integrated sheet which can be died into shape, skived if desired as is customary, and lasted. Just before lasting it may be dipped into rubber latex, in which case, after lasting and drying, the box, lining and cap of the shoe will be found adhering firmly together, thus forming an integrated toe which is soft and yet which is resiliently flexible.

An illustrative example of the practice of the invention will now be given. For the supporting fabric any suitabl inexpensive material, preferably cheese 0 0th, maybe Application filed January 7, 1525. Serial No. 1,039.

used, the only requirement being that it should be strong enough to withstand the stresses of the lasting processes.

The term paper pulp as herein used is satisfied by'the use of any lignocellulosic material composed of short somewhat stiff fibers, chiefly cellulose, prepared by treatment of wood or other ligneous matter from any kind of plant material, such as plant with commercial paper pulp which has been subjected to high pressure and is only slowly absorbent; but it has a certain inherent stiffness, coupled with very little strength, especially as contrasted with the felt which is commonly used for toe boxes and which is a loosely matted material prepared from long fibers, showing great flexibility and considerable strength. Such a pulp may be obtained by repulping commercial paper or pulp and depositing it in the desired thickness.

A sheet of dry pulp of the above description, having a thickness which depends upon the desired thickness or weight of stifi'ening material to be used for the toe box, is placed on the cotton sheet and the two are dipped together into the rubber latex. The

latex may be the commercial material containing 25% to 40% of gum rubber, and

preserved usually with ammonium hydroxide or a synthetic material prepared by recolloiding .ordinary rubber. The latex rapidly penetrates both the sheeting and the pulp, and these are then to be drained as soon as possible. The pulp lieson the sheeting as a very soft lining of fibers and must be carefully handled. The excess of latex may be pressed out by .rollers especially easily if covered with another layer of cloth. Having then been allowed to dry, either naturally or by the application of by a vulcanizing method. In place of commercial latex any variety thereof containin vulcanizin material, or that has been sheet being impregnated with the residue of a colloidal suspension of rubber.

Signed at Boston, Massachusetts, this sixteenth day of December1924.

WALLACE C. BENNETT.

vu canized in t e liquid form may be used, 7 I

and the resulting material heated in the shoe to form a vulcanized toe.

The supporting sheet may be itself a composite product, having a quality of resilience (greaterthan that of cloth sheeting, preby any known or suitable method.

are Thus, the pulp may be laid on a cloth which has been made resilient by saturating it with anything which when cooland suitabl treated gives it more body stiffness an elasticity than is natural to the cloth alone, thus producing a composite result which is more desirable for certain types of shoes. 'Any suitable method ma be employed for softening such a sti ener, if

necessary or desirable, for the lasting process.

It will be understood that the invention is not limited to the use of commercial rubber latex, for one may use any latex, natural or synthetic, that may serve the purpose, or any similar colloidal suspension of rubber particles resemblin latex in its roperties and action. And or the supporting sheet, the fabric need not be cheese cloth, which has been mentioned as being preferable, but may be a thin sheet or screening of any suitable textile or other material.

' I claim as my invention,

1. In the manufacture of sheet material suitable for use in stiffeners for shoes and the like, theystep of impregnating with a colloidal suspenslon of rubber a composite sheet comprising a su porting fabric and a superimposed body 0 loosely-matted short fibres'derivedfrom wood.

2. In the manufacture of stifi'eners for shoes and the like, the steps of impre nating with a colloidal suspension of rub r a com ite sheet comprising a su porting fabric and a superimposed body 0 looselymatted short fibres derived from wood, drying the mass, and thereafter, for incorporah the same in a shoe or other artlcle,

deve oping thereon an adhesive surface.

3. A sheet material'suitable for use as a stifiener for shoes and the like comprisi a composite sheet having a fabric base 8.1 1 5 a superimposed body of loosely-matted short fibres derived from wood, said composite 

